ALPINE  The big picture for Alpine’s proposed new high school is more than just the buildings and ballfields that will be constructed on a 92-acre tree-lined campus.

The “Big Picture” would be the education style offered at the school, a style in which students learn from doing projects as well as from reading textbooks. Students also would be able to take online classes, work at internships and enroll in college courses.

The plans for the Grossmont Union High School District’s new school in Alpine were presented to the board last week, and are expected to be presented later to local residents.

Superintendent Robert Collins said plans are still evolving for the campus, but assured it will be “one of the best designed and built facilities in the nation.”

Costs for the new school scheduled to open in 2013 have risen from $57 million to $65 million. That includes $25 million to acquire the land and get permits, and $40 million to design and construct the facilities. Construction is being financed through a $417 million bond approved by East County voters in 2008.

The plans presented to the board include not just a design for the school buildings on the tree-filled site, but the way that students would be taught there. It would be a “Big Picture” school, offering support to students from staff members, parents and community members. District officials said 92 percent of the students at “Big Picture” schools get their diplomas, significantly higher than at other schools.

Megan Werland, a Steele Canyon High School teacher who is a member of the citizens committee for the Alpine high school, said a “Big Picture” school allows students to take rigorous courses while still getting individual attention.

“It truly personalized students’ learning,” Werland said.

The school would be built in phases, at first providing ninth- and tenth-grade classes only. Initial plans call for two buildings with classrooms and science labs, and a third building that would house a fitness center, food services and the school administration. A soccer field and tennis/basketball courts that also could be used by the community are also planned.

Each of the 29,000-square-foot classroom buildings would have its own administrator and counselors for about 400 students, serving as its own school within the larger high school. If construction costs less than expected or additional money is raised, the initial plans also would include a performing arts center and softball and baseball fields.

The school ultimately would serve 2,000 students in five classroom buildings, and also include a football field and an Indian cultural center and museum. The schedule for full build-out will depend on the amount of money available and the number of students who attend the school.

The district is studying changing attendance boundaries to accommodate the new Alpine school. There are now 915 high school students living in Alpine, with an additional 272 students in Blossom Valley. District officials said they can’t predict how many students from other areas might want to go to the high school.